Four Loves in a Nutshell
by Sunechirei
Summary: Four drabbles about four couples on Christmas and New Years. This also has FF X in it, but I can't have three crossovers... *sigh* Anyway, there's SoraKairi, RikuxOC, CloTi, and TidusYuna. Please enjoy and RxR.


Tada! A Christmas and New Years special for all of you out there XD Anyway, this is a one shot with four short stories about four couples I love very much; Sora and Kairi, a character and mine who you might be familiar with, Ellie, with Riku, Cloud and Tifa, and Tidus and Yuna. In that order as well. So, I hope you enjoy this crazy story of mine, and though I'm not exactly happy with the writing for some of it, I just wanted to get this posted.

Merry Christmas everyone! :)

~Sunechirei

* * *

"You know what I think your problem is?" Sora leaned on Kairi's desk, placing his chin in his hand. It was right after school had gotten out, and Kairi had gotten stuck writing in the class diary, so Sora decided to wait for her, despite the fact that winter break had started. With a sigh, Kairi cocked her head to one side, looking up from where she was writing and staring into Sora's crystal blue eyes.

"No," she replied simply, "please enlighten me about this problem you think I have." She leaned forward as well, coming abnormally close to Sora in a flirtatious way. The teen flushed a deep red and moved back, obviously not used to the intimacy that came with dating someone. Kairi had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

Looking away, Sora said in a quieter voice, "You act so serious all the time..." His eyes traveled to her's, "I mean, it's almost Christmas, right? You should, you know, loosen up a little bit."

Kairi leaned back in her chair, a confused expression crossing her face. "What do you mean? You don't think I'm relaxed at all?"

Sensing an argument, Sora stood up and held his hands out in font of him as though his life depended on it. "No. No, no, no, no, no. That's not what I meant at all!" He bit his lip. "I just mean that... um... well." A sigh escaped his lips. "Look, it just seems like you're scared something else is going to happen, like Riku and I are going to leave again..."

"Well, what do you expect!" Kairi stood up angrily, her eyes narrow, causing Sora to take a step back, almost tripping over the desk behind him. "I can't help but think that you're going to leave me again! You spent three years traveling around the worlds, and even when you were supposed to be home, you had to leave again! I'm terrified that you and Riku are going to be called away again, and this time you might not come back-" The words caught in her throat, and she looked down at the desk again, hiding the tears that were threatening to fall down her face. "Already Riku spends all of his time in Radiant Garden, continuing Ansem's research, and even though he comes back every now again..." She clenched her fist, and Sora reached out to her, eyes pained as though he had no idea that his girlfriend had been thinking about these things.

"Kai... I'm sorry... I didn't-"

"I have to go." She slammed the journal shut and grabbed it up.

"Kairi!" Ignoring the teen calling after her as she ran out of the room, the tears streaming out of her eyes.

*#*#*#*#*#*

"You're an idiot!" Riku scolded, smacking Sora over the head. The brown-haired teen let out an indignant 'ow,' before looking up to glare at his friend. He was glaring at Sora, his eyes narrowed. "How could you have said that to Kairi?"

"Well, I didn't know she would react that way!" Sora crossed his arms like a pouting child. "Why did she do that?"

With a sigh, Riku collapsed into the only other chair in his apartment and let out a low growl. "Honestly? You don't know? What kinda boyfriend are you if you don't even know what's going on in your girlfriend's head?" He paused as if waiting for Sora to answer, but then continued again before he could. "I mean, I thought you were stupid before, but now I'm not even sure you have brain!"

"Hey!"

"It's true. Don't you ever pay attention to her?"

"Of course I do," Sora yelled, standing up, "I pay attention to everything she says to me, but she never talks about things like her being scared, and even when I ask her about it she just changes the subject."

The two boys glared at each other for a second, the tension in the room rising. Finally, Sora sat down again.

"So, why did she react that way?"

"You really don't know?"

"No. I don't."

"Idiot."

"Just tell me!"

"Fine." Riku said nothing for a time, fiddling with a book he was reading about the heartless, and Sora was becoming impatient, his foot tapping and fingers drumming the table. Finally, after what seemed to Sora forever, Riku sighed and closed his book. "She has nightmares, you know."

"What?"

"Nightmares. Really scary ones sometimes about what could happen to you if you were called off to save the world again."

Sora's jaw dropped, and he slumped back in his chair, a look of understanding crossing through his eyes. "What..."

"She tells me about them most of the time. I can't help but wonder hos she's able to go to sleep at night when she knows these dreams could come to her at any time. I think I would be too afraid to sleep." Riku glanced at Sora to judge the teen's reaction to this news, and when he was that Sora was frozen, he continued, "There's one that really scares her. I guess is spans from the time she saw you 'die' three years ago, because she says you're fourteen again, and... well, she sees every way you could have possibly died back then."

"What!" Sora stood up, knocking the chair he sat in to the ground. "Why would she dream about-"

"Don't destroy my chair!" Riku hissed, "And because she's afraid you're going to die."

Sora reached down slowly and picked up the chair before sitting in it hesitantly. "That's why she got so mad at me...?"

"Upset, more like."

"Yeah yeah, but why did she tell this to you, and not me? And why isn't she afraid you're going to get hurt?"

"She doesn't really trust you to not freak out. Also, she doesn't have the same feelings for me that she does for you. I'm more like a brother to her, so she's scared I'll get hurt, but that idea isn't nearly as frightening to her as if you got hurt." Sora sighed and leaned back in his chair. He closed his eyes, thinking about what Riku had just told him, and wondering if what he said was true. "You're going to freak out, aren't you?"

"I... just don't really know how to respond to that... she doesn't trust me enough to tell me these things... and yet..."

"I have an idea. Why don't you go talk to her. It's Christmas eve, so she's probably at the cave. Talk to her, and figure out how to fix your now messed up relationship." Sora glared at his friend.

"It's not messed up!"

"Yeah, sure. If you say so. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a book to read."

*#*#*#*#*#*

Kairi sat alone, her back leaning against the cool wall of the cave where it all started, where she left her heart in Sora, though he'd already won her heart years before that. She curled into a ball, hoping her eyes weren't swollen from the tears, and wished she hadn't snapped at Sora like she did. It wasn't like her to get so mad at him, no matter how stupid he acted. She just hoped Sora wouldn't be mad at her.

A thought trickled into her head, but she shook it away before it could dominate. True, she had no real reason to act the way she did, but running away from the problem wouldn't help in anyway. This had to be solved.

"Kai?"

Kairi's eyes snapped open, and she pushed herself away from the wall, surprised at the sound of Sora's voice. She looked up at him, biting her lip to keep from crying again, and felt her heart drop at the sight of him. His brown, spiky hair was dripping from the pouring rain outside, and his clothes were drenched from the same water. He looked exhausted, breathing heavily, crouched over a bit, but it wasn't those features that really got to Kairi. It was the look in those blue orbs of his, the sadness, and the hurt.

"Kai, why didn't you tell me about your dreams," he accused, standing up straight. Kairi's eyes widened, and she looked down at her knees, cursing Riku for telling that to Sora. He wasn't supposed to know about her nightmares, wasn't supposed to be worrying about her, not supposed to react like he normally does; protective, irrational.

"I'm... I'm sorry," was all Kairi could think to say at at the time, though she wished she could talk about something else, explain to him her reasons.

"Do you not trust me?"

Eye's wide, Kairi's head shot up, meeting his hurt gaze with her own. "No!" she cried, struggling to her feet. "No. I trust you. You're the one who saved me all those times, the one who rescued me from the darkness, from myself..." She trailed off as Sora glanced away. "I trust you, just..."

"You know I love you, right?" Sora looked up again, and took a step forward, causing Kairi to stumble back at bit, her face flushed. "It's not just a crush anymore." Another step, "I want you to know that. Kairi..." One more and he closed the distance between them and pulled Kairi into a hug. "I want to know what's going on with you. I'm not just some guy who'll leave you because you have scary dreams."

"I know! I just didn't want you to worry about me-"

"But I want to worry about you!" He pushed Kairi away from him and stared into her eyes. "I travel to hundreds of different worlds, battled heartless, nobodies, Organization XIII, all to get to you and make sure you were safe, and you say you don't want me to worry about you?" Sora chuckled at the thought. "It's a little late for that."

Kairi didn't know how to respond. She knew that Sora had originally begun his journey to find her and Riku, then he got caught up in saving the universe. That whole ordeal wasn't just for Kairi, and she knew that, but still, the fact that he had said it caused butterflies in her stomach. "I-"

"Kairi, I'm not going to get hurt again, even if Yen Sid or the king decide I need to help again. I already promised this once, but I'll say it again; I'll always come back to you. No matter how far away I am, no matter how bleak things may seem, I'll always, _always_, find you again. Alright."

Again, Kairi started crying, but these weren't tears of sadness, but one's of joy. She nearly tackled Sora, though he didn't fall, and kissed him full on the lips before he could say anything else. "I love you too," she whispered against his mouth, before pulling back and laughing.

Sora laughed as well, pushing Kairi's hair out of her face, and looked down at his watch.

"Well, look at the time. It's midnight." He looked down at her. "Merry Christmas, Kairi."

* * *

Riku's fingers trailed along the spines of the remaining books in Ansem's study trying to find the one that he was looking for. Finally, he saw the familiar title, though he couldn't read the language it was in, and pulled it off the shelf. It was his goal to translate the entire thing and then study it so he could figure out things about Heartless and Nobodies that could help save the worlds from them. It was very tedious, and since Riku didn't speak or read the language it was written in, he needed the help of the only person left in Radiant Garden who could.

"Man! You're obsessed with that book."

Riku jumped, nearly dropping the large book, and turned. Ellie was standing in the doorway to Ansem's office, eye's flashing with amusement. How she was able to completely hide her presence was a mystery to Riku, and whenever he tried to ask her about it she just changed the subject. He sighed.

"Well, it could help save hundreds of people, if you would stop being lazy and helped me translate it." He held it out to her expectantly, but the young woman only stared at it.

"You're no fun, Riku. I mean, it's Christmas! You've been working your ass off for an entire year. You even dropped out of school back on Destiny Island to come here and try and figure this whole thing out. Aren't you going to regret that?" Ellie strutted into the room and took the book, her hand brushing lightly against Riku's and he shuddered slightly at her touch. Ignoring the feeling rising in his stomach, Riku pulled his hand away quickly and rolled his eyes.

"I'm eighteen. I already missed a ton of school. I went when I was younger, but that's because I really didn't have a choice in the matter." He watched as Ellie opened the book, her golden eyes flashing across the pages with ease, as she read the first page quickly. "Besides, I can't learn that language in school."

Laughing, Ellie snapped the book shut and grinned at Riku. "You can't learn this language anywhere."

"I can from you."

"Uh uh. No way. I'm not going to spend my time teaching you a language you don't need to know." She backed away, holding the book behind her as Riku tried to grab at it. "This book is old. It doesn't need to be translated. Please just give up on it. You don't even know what it says."

"You've read sections of it to me. I know the gist of it." Riku took a step forward and tried to grab the book again, but Ellie was too fast for him, ducking under his arm with the book clenched to her chest. Riku spun around, only to see Ellie pressing her palm against the wall, revealing one of the many secret compartments that only the girl knew about.

"Hey, wait-" Riku started, but gave up when Ellie put the book in the hole and closed it.

An awkward silence fell over the two. Riku knew that the only way to get the book now was for Ellie to reopen the secret section it was in. After all, most of the area's in Ansem's study only responded to his old apprentice.

Finally, Ellie turned around, an apologetic smile on her face. "Sorry, Riku, but that book shouldn't be translated."

"Why not?"

Ellie opened her mouth as if she were going to respond, but no noise came out.

"I asked 'why not.'"

Shaking her head, Ellie replied, "It's not important." She walked forward, pushing past Riku, but he didn't let her go far, as he grabbed her shoulder and shoved her against the wall. Despite being the fastest person known to man, Ellie wasn't quick enough to get away before Riku grabbed her wrists, pressed them next to her head, and leaned forward, keeping her completely trapped.

"I _asked_, 'why not.'" Ellie's normally happy expression turned into one of complete anger and frustration, and she struggled against Riku's grip. "It's no use trying to get away. You may be a hell of a lot faster than I am, but I'm stronger than you, and you know that." Ellie shot Riku a nasty glare.

"Let me go," she hissed, but Riku felt no need to oblige. Instead, he just laughed.

"Not until you answer my question." Ellie 'humphed' and looked away pointedly, closing her eyes with the defiance of a young child. Riku sighed. "Oh come on. Why are you acting so weird today? Like you said before, it's Christmas. Lighten up a bit and just tell me what's going on in that brain of yours." Still, Ellie said nothing. "Look. I know you're reluctant to translate it because it reminds you of your past, but still, this could help a ton of worlds be saved!"

Finally, Ellie looked at him again. "That book only contains a little bit about the Heartless and Nobodies. The rest has absolutely nothing to do with it. And it doesn't remind me of my past. I don't care." She sighed, "If you really want me to translate it for you, fine, but if it scares you, that's _not_ my problem."

She relaxed a little bit, and Riku let go of her wrists, but the two didn't move from the position they were in.

"Gah!" Riku exclaimed after a moment of silence. Shocked, Ellie looked up at him, a concerned look crossing her face.

"What? What's wrong? Are you okay? Did something happen?"

"It's you!" The silver-haired teen placed his hands against the wall on either side of Ellie's head, trapping her to the wall again. "You and you're ability to drive me to the brink of insanity! Why must you be so... so..." Riku struggled to find the right word, but all of this had caused a grin to spread across Ellie's face.

"Sexy?" She suggested. Riku froze, then looked down at her amused face, before pulling away and smacking her gently over the head. "Hey!" Ellie protested, rubbing the back of her head.

Riku turned away, trying to hide the blush that was now painting his cheeks. "You," he began, making sure his voice sounded normal, "are _not_ sexy." He stalked out of the room, ignoring Ellie's laughter and calls for him to come back. She reminded him too much of Xielle, which should be a good thing as Xielle was Ellie's nobody, but it was still difficult for Riku to see just Ellie, just the golden-eyed girl who he had fallen in love with. However, he couldn't tell if he loved her, or the fact that she was also Xielle.

"Hey! Riku!" Ellie's voice echoed in the large canyon as the young woman came running after Riku. He ignored her, though and continued to walk towards the center of town. "Oi! I'm talking to you, you son of a bitch!" Clenching his teeth, Riku whirled around.

"What do you want."

"Man, I didn't realize you would get mad for something like that." She paused for a second, observing Riku. Eventually, she groaned. "Are you still weirded out that I'm the somebody for the girl you were in love with?"

Biting his lip, Riku contemplated whether or not he should say "yes" or not. He was partly confused about it, but it wasn't all that now... "I don't know. Don't you find it weird?"

Ellie seemed taken aback by this question, and she looked down. "Kinda. I mean, I have some of Xielle's memories of you, so it's a little... odd, to be around you, but I think I'm more freaked out by the fact that I was _dead_ for ten years..."

"You weren't really dead."

"Yeah, I was."

"No."

"Yep." Before Riku could say anything else, Ellie sighed and shook her head. "Well, it doesn't really matter anymore. I have to go. Yen Sid has decided I need to work on my magic some more, and he's not going to let me get out of practicing today, despite the fact it's a holiday." Riku laughed, understanding completely what she meant. He and Ellie were both pretty bad at using magic, though Ellie was a lot worse, so Yen Sid decided to start training them. Sora, on the other hand, was told by the old wizard that he was the best magic user since Aqua, so he didn't need those lessons.

"Alright. I'll see you later then, Riku." Ellie walked past Riku, waving goodbye. Riku let her go at first, but after a seconds hesitation, turned around and grabbed her arm, keeping her from leaving.

"H-hold on a moment. I... I need to ask you something."

Ellie raised her eye brows and waiting patiently as Riku tried to figure out what to say to her. He wanted to say it, he really did, but there was something keeping him from talking at all. Hoping that it would help him, he looked down into her eyes, but all it did was make him freeze. She was watching him patiently, her golden eyes wide with wonder, and the next thing Riku knew, he had leaned down, and was kissing her.

She froze, eyes closing slowly. When Riku pulled away, her eyes snapped open again, and she opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when a tiny flake of snow fell on her nose. She jumped and looked to the sky, as did Riku, both of them completely silent.

"Why... why did you-" Ellie began, staring up at the snowy sky. Her eyes traveled down to Riku, who was still looking up. "Why did you just do that?" Riku looked down into Ellie's eyes.

"I... I think... I think I'm in love with you."

* * *

A light snow was falling down on the streets of Midgar, children were playing in what little snow had collected on the sidewalks, and laughter echoed off of the buildings of the once silent and mournful city. It had been three years since the Geostigma epidemic, and the city, and the world, were beginning to recover.

Especially Cloud Strife.

He had gone off the deep end all those years ago, being sick, dealing with the death of his friends, Zack and Aerith, and yet he had redeemed himself when he found the spring where the Geostigma could be cured. Of course, the fact that he had saved the world from Sephiroth, _again_, helped, but Cloud could care less about that. In fact, right now all he cared about was getting Tifa a present for the beginning of the new year, and as far as he was concerned, none of his past accomplishments mattered.

As he walked the streets of Midgar, he looked at every stall, ever shop window, looking for something small but meaningful he could give to the woman who had practically saved him from his depressing life. She definitely deserved something nice, but where could he find something good enough for Tifa... well, he wasn't sure about that.

"You were in SOLDIER, weren't you." Cloud stopped. The one who had spoken was an elderly man, standing among a group of tables with different trinkets scattered across them. Cloud nodded at him slowly, and the man chuckled. "I could tell. You're eyes give it away. Now then, what are you doing here in the slums of Midgar?"

"I'm looking for a present for a... friend of mine," he said simply, examining the merchandise on the tables.

"A friend? A lady friend, more like. That must be why you look so embarrassed," the man chuckled at the fact that Cloud had looked away, biting his lip. "I think I recognize you, you know. You're that delivery boy who works out of the 7th heaven bar. You're friends with Tifa, right?"

Cloud looked back at the man. "You know Tifa?"

"Do I know- of course I know Tifa! Everyone here knows the Lockhart girl. After all, she's taking care of those poor orphans, Marlene and Denzel. I love those kids. Always buying stuff from me."

_So this is where they spend all of their allowance. _

"Well, I'm glad you like them then."

"Oh, I'm sure you are. You're Cloud, right? Well, I think Tifa would like something from here, and not because I just want to sell something, but because she comes here sometimes and looks at my wares before saying she doesn't have the money to spend on anything here. So, go ahead and look."

The old man grinned, walking back into the depths of his store. Cloud sighed and began to look around. He didn't exactly trust this old man completely, but there were some things there that certainly seemed as though Tifa would like them. As he searched, he found a few trinkets that he thought she might enjoy getting them, but after some time, something caught his eye. It was sitting there, underneath a pile of necklaces, hiding from all.

Slowly, he picked it up and examined it carefully.

"Sir, how much is this?"

*#*#*#*#*#*

"3... 2... 1... It's a new year everyone!" Barrett was standing on the top of the bar, a pint in his hand and a smile on his face as all the remaining people of AVALANCHE cheered like never before. Well, everyone but Tifa and Cloud.

The two of them were standing on opposite sides of the room, both watching the festivities in silence, one cleaning the mugs and cups from the party, and the other playing with the present he had gotten earlier that day. Cloud was watching Tifa, and occasionally, she would glance up at him, only to flush and look down at her work again.

This action would cause Cloud to chuckle, but he was also worried that things wouldn't go well.

For the next two hours, the party continued on, but finally, the people started to trickle out, leaving behind a huge mess, two very tired children, and Cloud alone in the bar with Tifa. He stood up slowly, and walked over to her, picking up things along the way in order to help the bar maid clean up faster.

"Oh! Thanks, Cloud," Tifa chirped tiredly, taking a few of the items from him. "I really appreciate that."

"..."

"Wow, that's just like you to not say anything." She smiled shyly, looking away. "You know, Midgar has changed a lot since you saved us all from the Geostigma. As has Denzel." She looked at him, "I guess I should thank you."

"You've thanked me a million times, Teef. You don't need to again."

"Well, it's a new year, right? A new year, new days, a second chance for everything. It's absolutely amazing, right?" She placed her rag on the bar and leaned forward towards Cloud, a smile on on her face. Cloud could only watch her, fear rising in his throat, keeping him from saying what he really wanted to. "Cloud? Is something wrong?" Tifa moved from the other side of the bar towards Cloud. "You look really pale."

Cloud reached into his pocket and fumbled with the present. "I... I have something for you." He gulped and pulled out the present. "Here." Holding it out, he waited patiently for Tifa to take it, looking down at his feet. When she did, he glanced up again, his hands intertwining nervously.

"What? Why? I didn't nee-" She stopped speaking as she opened the box. Eye's wide, she looked up at him. "Cloud..."

"I... I didn't really know how to ask you, or tell you, but I... I wanted to..." He trailed off, not sure what to say, and Tifa just stared at the item in her hand, before clenching her eyes tight. Suddenly, the box went flying through the air, hitting Cloud square in the forehead. He blinked and backed up, surprised by this action, but didn't have long to contemplate this, as the next thing he knew, Tifa was throwing her arms around him, crying.

"You idiot! Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot!"

"Wha-"

"Why the hell didn't you ask my sooner!" The young woman buried her face in Cloud's shoulder, tears falling down her eyes. She pushed herself away from Cloud. "I've been practically begging you do to so since the moment you were healed from that stupid Geostigma." Shaking her head, she nearly screamed, "You're an idiot!"

"H-Hey, I..."

"Of course I'll marry you. Idiot!"

* * *

"Yuna? Are you alright?"

The summoner scrambled to her feet, pushing the note under a few books on the desk she sat at.

"At, Lulu... yes, I'm perfectly alright." The door to her room opened, revealing a young woman with pitch black hair and extreme clothing. Under her arm was a small toy, a small bear type creature with a pompom on top of it's head. She leaned against the doorway, a frown crossing her face.

"Are you sure? Recently you've seemed... distant, like you figured something out."

"I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"Hm... alright then." Lulu walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. With a sigh, Yuna sat down, pulling out the note she had discovered in her room only a few days ago. It was from Tidus, the last word she had from him.

_Dear Yuna,_

_ I still don't know everything about Spira, or really anything about your life, and yet I can't help but love you, really. It's so amazing how much fun I've had since I've come to this place, and I think that's all thanks to you. I really appreciate everything you've done to help me, especially since I was an insensitive jerk. I'm sorry I have to go, but I'll try and find you again._

_I hope you're happy now,  
Tidus_

Yuna placed her head on the table, a tear falling down her cheek.

"It's a new year, Tidus, I'll look for you this year. Okay? I promise. I'll find you."


End file.
